In this issue: Many neighbors who reached out in 2024 and provided their full mailing address may have seen the letter below in their mailboxes over the past week. This is the first of what will be an annual end-of-year letter to supplement my biweekly digital newsletters. If you received a physical letter but would like to opt out of future mailings, you can let us know by providing your name and address to us at ward7@minneapolismn.gov or 612-673-2207. This year brought many policy accomplishments to improve the safety, stability, and health of our neighborhoods. While there is still much work to do, I wanted to take a moment to share some highlights of the work my team and I took on during our first year in office. We look forward to continuing our work with you, City staff, and other partners to advance our shared goals in 2025. - 2,259 - In 2024, the Legislative Department launched a software tool called “Adjure” to help Council offices track, organize, and respond to help requests, comments, and policy feedback. The Ward 7 Office recorded the most resolved cases at 2,259.
- 24 - The Ward 7 newsletter was a key communication tool we used to share information about my work on the Council and opportunities throughout the ward. We issued a newsletter following each of the 24 legislative cycles last year, including a survey question to collect feedback to help guide our work.
- 644 - We added 644 subscribers to our list, a 16% increase.
- 468 - Subscribers submitted 468 responses across 19 survey questions. Our team reviewed the responses for policy decisions and shared relevant feedback with City staff and other partners to help improve existing programs.
- 1,449 - According to the City Clerk, 2024 was an extraordinarily productive legislative year with Council taking and approving 1,449 official acts. I am proud to have authored 111 resolutions out of 449, as well as 4 codified ordinances out of 17. I led on a range of issues, including neighborhood safety, environment and climate goals, and economic revitalization initiatives for both Downtown and Uptown.
- 199 - Council Members formally convened 199 times, including the 21 Climate & Infrastructure meetings I presided over as the Committee Chair.
- 9 - Hosting regular community engagement opportunities to connect directly with constituents was a major focus. I hosted 9 “Coffee with Katie” events, each in a different neighborhood. Attendees raised issues important to them, learned about notable projects, and engaged in discussion with me and their neighbors.
- 50+ - The Ward 7 team attended over 50 neighborhood organization and community meetings.
- 110 - 110 constituents across all 9 neighborhoods completed my City Budget Feedback exercise.
- 800+ - Our team of 3 coordinated and participated in over 800 individual and small group meetings with constituents and stakeholders in 2024.
It’s important for me to be accessible to the community, and I want to ensure that your lived experiences are informing my policy decisions. Thank you to everyone who has engaged with us so far in this council term.   A photo of pedestrians on Nicollet Mall during a sunny day with chairs, trees, bikes, and a bus stop I introduced and passed a Legislative Directive requesting information and data related to the ongoing process and work of converting Nicollet Mall to a pedestrian, bicycle, and non-motorized vehicle public plaza, including results of the community input phase; preliminary plans for infrastructure, amenities, and activation investments on Nicollet Mall, Hennepin Ave, Marquette Ave, 2nd Ave, and 3rd Ave; and anticipated impacts on travel for current public transit riders of bus lines on Nicollet Mall. Public Works will present this information to us at the Climate and Infrastructure Committee on Thursday, March 20 at 1:30 p.m. in the Public Service Center, Room 350.
A colorful graphic of the Minneapolis downtown skyline The Vibrant Storefronts pilot program is expanding to offer rental support for artist spaces in new parts of Loring Park, Downtown and Uptown. Bringing property owners and artists together ensures stable tenants for the owners and furnishes space for the local creative community. The first three awardees from November have opened their doors in the Harmon Place Historic District: Black Business Enterprises, Blackbird Revolt and Pride Cultural Arts Center. The two remaining awardees will open this spring. The Vibrant Storefronts pilot is a part of . Applications open March 17. The City will hold site visits April 11, 12 and 19. on the City website.
A photo of Senator Tina Smith joined by Council Members Katie Cashman, Andrea Jenkins, Jason Chavez, Aurin Chowdhury, and Elliott Payne in Washington, D.C. This week I traveled to Washington D.C. to represent Minneapolis at the National League of Cities and at Capitol Hill meetings with Senator Tina Smith, Senator Amy Klobuchar and Congresswoman Ilhan Omar. I advocated for our citywide funding priorities including American Disabilities Act infrastructure compliance, the Nicollet Bridge project, the Fire Station Alerting System upgrades, and a special Ward 7 effort to revitalize First Avenue North downtown. The federal budget funds $54 million of the City’s annual budget so we are heavily implicated by the budget cuts to our housing, healthcare, and emergency management services. In these very concerning times at the federal level, I want Ward 7 to know that I will do everything in my power to fight for the services our residents need and deserve. Public hearings are officially confirmed when meeting agendas are published in the roughly 48 business hours prior to a scheduled meeting, so I recommend checking back on the respective links to verify the timeline. Find out more about participating in scheduled hearings and submitting a public comment or watch meetings on the City’s YouTube channel. Business, Housing, & Zoning Committee: Thursday, March 20 | 10:00 a.m. | 250 S 4th St, Room 350 - Passage of Ordinance amending Title 12, Chapter 244 of the Minneapolis Code of Ordinances relating to Housing: Maintenance Code, prohibiting the use of algorithmic devices that perform calculations of non-public competitor data to advise landlords on vacancy or rental rates.
- Considering an appeal submitted by Timothy Baylor regarding the following decisions of the City Planning Commission (PLAN18994) to deny the construction of a proposed 2.5-story multiple-family dwelling containing eight dwelling units at 1302 Douglas Ave and 1716 Fremont Ave S.
Climate & Infrastructure Committee: Thursday, March 20 | 1:30 p.m. | 250 S 4th St, Room 350 - Water service and terminology revisions ordinance
- 24th St E Resurfacing: Project approval and assessment
In each Ward 7 Newsletter, we include a question for constituents to weigh in on. Questions may be related to upcoming policy decisions, future planning, issue prioritization, community project ideas, and more. Today's question: I am working with city staff on changes to the signage code to allow for more vibrant signage and wayfinding, especially for downtown and the entertainment district. Some examples of changes may involve digital signage and projections, blade signs for downtown restaurants, signage on buildings for office tenants, or billboards. I want to hear from you. What types of signs would you like to see more or less of in our urban landscape? Minneapolis public safety officials announce Year-to-Date crime decrease. MPD Chief O'Hara and Safety Commissioner Barnette announced year-to-date decreases in robberies, carjackings, gunshot wound victims, auto thefts, aggravated assaults, burglaries, vandalism, negligent homicide, larceny and theft, stolen property, weapon law violations and shots fired calls. A full breakdown of crime statistics can be found here. They credit these successes with the following strategies: - Crime Pattern Response Protocol: Introduced a year ago, when initiated, the Crime Pattern Response Protocol reallocates police resources to areas where they’re needed the most to stop crime sprees in progress.
- Curfew Task Force: The Curfew Task Force was established in September 2024 to help reduce juvenile crime. The task force consists of dedicated police officers, community groups, and partnering law enforcement agencies who engage with juveniles prior to curfew to ensure their safety and connect them with available services. The task force also regularly checks in with at-risk young people and their guardians to provide them with essential resources and support. Since its implementation, there has been a 66% reduction in new violent youth offenders in Minneapolis.
- Late-Night Safety Plan (LSNP): This program has been expanded beyond downtown into Dinkytown and Uptown. In Dinkytown, the department increased the number of nights the plan was implemented during the summer. MPD resources saturated the area, and leadership was able to quickly deploy those resources to address issues. In Uptown, the LNSP was re-established in the fall. The use of surveillance monitoring allowed for quick deployment of MPD resources in the area before any problems escalated.
- Police recruitment: After a successful recruitment campaign, a historic police contract, and a renewed emphasis on boots-on-the-ground policing, MPD applications have increased by 133%. In 2024, the MPD finished the year with more officers than it began with for the first time since 2019, and the most recent police recruit classes are some of the largest and most diverse in recent years.
I am keenly aware that data demonstrates that safety incidents in the City of Minneapolis typically drop in the winter and rise during the summer months each year. We need dedicated summer safety planning to address warm weather upticks in all types of crime. City Council, in its policy and oversight capacity, recently passed a legislative directive seeking information to better understand the Office of Community Safety's summer Safety plans for 2025 and the methodology used to inform the selected strategies. That plan will be presented to the Council's Public Health and Safety committee on April 23, 2025.
A blue and white graphic with event details and headshot for Coffee with Katie Join me, Citizens For A Loring Park Community, and staff from the City’s Public Works Department to learn about the work underway to evaluate Critical Parking Areas throughout the city. These areas are commonly known as “resident permit zones.” Community members are invited to Brühaven to review draft proposals and provide feedback about CPA 15 visible on the map above. This is the second of two meetings on this topic. Current Critical Parking permit holders are encouraged to attend. When: Tuesday, March 25 | 6:00-7:30 p.m. Where: Brühaven Craft Co.’s new private event space (1368 LaSalle Ave) A map of the 2025-2026 Kenwood concrete rehabilitation plan Kenwood Concrete Rehabilitation & SWLRT: In 2025 and 2026 the citywide concrete streets rehabilitation work comes to several streets in Kenwood. After resident feedback, the project team has amended the project plan to better coordinate with detour routes associated with the SWLRT Green Line Extension project. Sign up to receive emailed updates on both projects (Concrete Streets Rehab & SWLRT), which will be getting underway for the season in the coming weeks. I will continue to coordinate constituent concerns with our project teams in our biweekly meetings. Hennepin Ave S: Phase 2 (Hennepin Ave from 26th St. to Douglas Ave) street construction season is scheduled to start March 31st. Phase 2 Utility work continues and will be complete in early April. Xcel Energy is upgrading facilities along the corridor and will be working between 26th Ave. and 24th Ave. on the east side of the corridor, working within the east parking lane and drive lane. Phase 1 (Hennepin Ave from Lake to 26th St.) is open to traffic. There will be misc. work on punchlist items, final landscaping, and irrigation items during the spring months necessitating periodic short term lane closures. The weekly stakeholder meetings for this project resume on Friday, March 28th at 10am. View the project page for further details and to access the virtual meeting link. A green and white event graphic with meeting details and a photo of the Berger "dandelion" Fountain in Loring Park Loring Park neighbors, I hope to see you on Monday, March 17th at the historic Music Box Theatre for the CLPC Annual Meeting! Hear directly from your elected officials, learn about the work your neighborhood organization accomplished in 2024, hear about ways to get more involved, and cast your vote for CLPC’s newest Board members. - Ward 7 City Council Member Katie Cashman
- State Representative Katie Jones
- MPD 1st Precinct Inspector Billy Peterson
- MPRB Commissioner Elizabeth Shaffer
- Ben Johnson, Director of the Minneapolis Arts & Cultural Affairs Department
When: Monday, March 17, 2025 - 5:30-6:30 - Social hour with food/beverages, music & info fair
- 6:30-8:00 - Program & Speakers
Where: Music Box Theatre (1407 Nicollet Ave)
A photo of Council Member Katie Cashman standing with one of the co-owners of the Tropico restaurant Sometimes the news can get us down, but there is a lot to be excited about in Minneapolis! This year we will be sure to call out some good news in each of our newsletters. Do you have some good news to share? Let us know by emailing ward7@minneapolismn.gov and including “Good News Round-up" in the subject line. - Tropico Colombian restaurant, which is located in the Kickernick building at 430 1st Ave N serves delicious Colombian food and treats, now has had its liquor licensed approved and soon will be selling Colombian cocktails in the Warehouse District.
A photo of Council Member Cashman speaking at a podium at the March Coffee with Katie event The Ward 7 team continues to get out in community to talk to neighbors and stakeholders where they are. Here are a few highlights from the past couple of weeks. - Welcomed folks to ModernWell in Bryn Mawr for our most recent “Coffee with Katie” event where we talked about the newly amended Boulevard Ordinance with City staff
- Joined the Safety Committee at the The Groveland in Loring Park to talk about initiatives that are underway to improve safety and livability in Loring Park and Stevens Square-Loring Heights
- Convened a meeting with residents and MPHA maintenance team members at the Atrium Apartments to discuss air quality concerns and solutions
- Visited students at the U of M’s Carlson School of Management to discuss economic revitalization strategies for Uptown
- Met with Loring Park residents who started the Brentwood Tenants Union in response to landlord and property management negligence in their building
- Attended the Minneapolis Renaissance Coalition gatherings, most recently to discuss the 1st Avenue North Reconstruction project
- Served school lunches to Kindergartners and 1st graders at Kenwood Elementary school with parent volunteers
To find out about what’s going on in your part of town, check out the nine neighborhood organizations working to keep folks connected and engaged in Ward 7: |
